"Payton in 1997, the Four Tops had had the same membership for over forty years. Former Temptation Theo Peoples joined the group in 1998. Peoples soon became the lead vocalist, as Levi Stubbs fell ill, and Ronnie McNair took Payton's place. Benson continued to tour extensively as part of the Four Tops, spending a third of the year on tour. The group would often tour with The Temptations as part of a double bill. Benson died of lung cancer and other illnesses on July 1, 2005. His leg had been amputated earlier in 2005 due to circulation problems. He is"
"for the Detroit-based pizza chain Happy's Pizza, which became successful over the years. The group was featured in several television specials during this time, including ""Motown 45"", and several by PBS, including a 50th-anniversary concert dedicated to the group (available on DVD). The concert turned out to be bittersweet; it featured a brief appearance of the wheelchair-bound Levi Stubbs, and a memorial to Lawrence Payton, announced by Obie Benson. Benson appeared on one more PBS special and died on July 1, 2005, from lung cancer. The final PBS special, titled ""Motown: The Early Years"", featured a message of Benson's passing"
"neighborhood football games, even though he was not aware Stubbs was a singer. Later, attending a variety show featuring the Lucky Millinder band, the band announced a talented young singer who Fakir recognized as the boy he played football with. They became closer friends and Stubbs even traveled with Fakir to his sporting events, where they enjoyed singing and engaging teammates in sing-a-longs. With their shared love of singing, they tried a few other singers then decided to ask Lawrence Payton and Renaldo ""Obie"" Benson. They invited Payton and Benson to join them at a party hosted by the Shahrazads,"
"led by longtime singer Levi Stubbs, and included special co-lead spots by the other Tops, Lawrence Payton, Renaldo ""Obie"" Benson and Abdul ""Duke"" Fakir, in that respective order during the song's chorus. The song explains the love a man feels for the woman he's in love with. Their second single release on ABC after leaving Motown in 1972, the song became their most successful post-Motown Top 40 hit, reaching number four on the US Pop Singles chart. It was also another big success for the group on the US R&B Singles chart, where it peaked at number two. Additional covers"
"Motown Sound heard around the world during the 1960s. They were notable for having Stubbs, a baritone, as their lead singer, whereas most male and mixed vocal groups of the time were fronted by a tenor. The group was the main male vocal group for the highly successful songwriting and production team of Holland–Dozier–Holland, who crafted a stream of hit singles for Motown. These included two ""Billboard"" Hot 100 number-one hits for the Tops: ""I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)"" in 1965 and ""Reach Out I'll Be There"" in 1966. After Holland-Dozier-Holland left Motown in 1967, the Four"
"producer in Chicago The group briefly reunited for Ian Levine's Motorcity Records project in the late 1980s. Chico Leverett died on December 5, 2013, aged 79. Bateman died on October 12, 2016 at the age of 80, from a heart attack. Coincidentally, Sonny Sanders also died on the same day. Singles Albums The Satintones The Satintones were an American R&B group who recorded together in the late 1950s and early 1960s. They are notable as the first group ever to record for the Motown label. The original members were Charles ""Chico"" Leverett, Sonny Sanders, James Ellis, and Robert Bateman. The"
"on two occasions for brief stays. Apart from their album ""Indestructible"" (owned by Sony Music Entertainment), Universal Music Group controls the rights to their entire post-1963 catalog (through various mergers and acquisitions) and also their 1956 single, ""Could It Be You"". A change of lineup was forced on the group when Lawrence Payton died on June 20, 1997. The group initially continued as a three-piece under the name the Tops, before Theo Peoples (formerly of the Temptations) was recruited as the new fourth member. Peoples eventually took over the role of lead singer when Stubbs suffered a stroke in 2000,"
"Motown's famed Studio A in Hitsville U.S.A. with the Funk Brothers, Motown's in-house band, but the results remained unreleased. By April 1971 Beck had completed the line-up of this new group with guitarist/vocalist Bobby Tench, keyboard player Max Middleton and bassist Clive Chaman. The new band performed as ""the Jeff Beck Group"" but had a substantially different sound from the first line-up. ""Rough and Ready"" (October 1971), the first album they recorded, on which Beck wrote or co-wrote six of the album's seven tracks (the exception being written by Middleton), included elements of soul, rhythm-and-blues and jazz, foreshadowing the direction"
"Elton Motello Elton Motello was an English punk rock and new wave band. Elton Motello is both the moniker of Alan Ward, the lead singer and songwriter, and the name of the band itself. Alan Ward was formerly a member of the glam punk band Bastard along with Damned guitarist Brian James, Dez Lover, future Raxola frontman Yves Kengen and Nobby Goff. Motello then recruited a new set of musicians including Mike Butcher (aka ""Jet Staxx"" who had played on Jet Boy, Jet Girl), Willie Change (bass), and Nobby Goff (drums), to record debut album ""Victim of Time"", which also"
"The Satintones The Satintones were an American R&B group who recorded together in the late 1950s and early 1960s. They are notable as the first group ever to record for the Motown label. The original members were Charles ""Chico"" Leverett, Sonny Sanders, James Ellis, and Robert Bateman. The group went through a line-up change in 1961, Leverett leaving the group and being replaced by two new members, Vernon Williams and Sammy Mack. They recorded six singles for the Motown label between 1959 and 1961, though they never scored a hit record. The group disbanded at the end of 1961. When"
"Bob Babbitt Bob Babbitt (born Robert Kreinar; November 26, 1937 – July 16, 2012) was a Hungarian-American bassist, most famous for his work as a member of Motown Records' studio band, the Funk Brothers, from 1966 to 1972, as well as his tenure as part of MFSB for Philadelphia International Records afterwards. Also in 1968, with Mike Campbell, Ray Monette and Andrew Smith he formed the band Scorpion, which lasted until 1970. He is ranked number 59 on ""Bass Player"" magazine's list of ""The 100 Greatest Bass Players of All Time"". Babbitt traded off sessions with original Motown bassist James"
"Levi and the Rockats Levi and the Rockats are a British rockabilly revival band originally from Essex but currently based in New York City. They are recognised as one of the pioneering neo-rockabilly groups of the 1980s. Levi & the Rockats were founded in 1977 by Levi Dexter, a Teddy Boy from Southend on Sea. His main influences included Gene Vincent, Eddie Cochran and Elvis Presley, musicians popular among the 1960s British rocker subculture. In December 1979 Levi & the Rockats disbanded and the Rockats continued under that name. Levi Dexter went solo and is still performing rockabilly music and"
"following the credits. Lawrence Payton's son Roquel (real name Lawrence Payton, Jr.) replaced Benson as the new bass (Roquel could be seen in the pledge break interviews of ""Motown: The Early Years""). Theo Peoples also left the Tops to form his own group and was replaced by Harold 'Spike' Bonhart as lead singer. The group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990, and into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 1999. In 2004, ""Rolling Stone"" ranked them #79 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. The Four Tops were inducted"
"band Kagny and the Dirty Rats, which recorded a self-titled album on the Motown label. The latter was produced by former bandmates Benny Medina and Kerry Gordy (now known as Kerry Ashby). Larry Robinson also collaborated with Todd Homer of the L.A. Punk band The Angry Samoans, his former classmate at Beverly Hills High School, to form the psychedelic band The Mooseheart Faith Stellar Groove Band that released several CD's on September Gurls Records in Germany. Apollo (quintet) Apollo was an American R&B/disco group that recorded for Motown in the late 1970s. They are best known as the band of"
"The Originals (band) The Originals, often called ""Motown's best-kept secret,"" were a successful Motown R&B and soul group during the late 1960s and the 1970s, most notable for the hits ""Baby, I'm For Real,"" ""The Bells,"" and the disco classic ""Down To Love Town."" Formed in 1966, the group originally consisted of baritone singer Freddie Gorman, tenor/falsetto Walter Gaines, and tenors C. P. Spencer and Hank Dixon (and briefly Joe Stubbs). Ty Hunter replaced Spencer when he left to go solo in the early 1970s. They had all previously sung in other Detroit groups, Spencer having been an original member"
"Recording Studio. Elton Motello Elton Motello was an English punk rock and new wave band. Elton Motello is both the moniker of Alan Ward, the lead singer and songwriter, and the name of the band itself. Alan Ward was formerly a member of the glam punk band Bastard along with Damned guitarist Brian James, Dez Lover, future Raxola frontman Yves Kengen and Nobby Goff. Motello then recruited a new set of musicians including Mike Butcher (aka ""Jet Staxx"" who had played on Jet Boy, Jet Girl), Willie Change (bass), and Nobby Goff (drums), to record debut album ""Victim of Time"","
"Ingber, a future member of Frank Zappa's Mothers of Invention, Fraternity of Man and Captain Beefheart's The Magic Band; Bruce Johnston, half of the Bruce and Terry duo with Terry Melcher from 1962–66 and longtime ""sixth"" member of The Beach Boys, for a time brother Mel Taylor, and guitarist-songwriter-bandleader Derry Weaver, who would record and perform in several capacities during the early 1960s. The Gamblers had a local hit in the Los Angeles area with ""Moon Dawg"" and Taylor played on the recording. Taylor played with Canned Heat from 1967 to 1970, and appeared with them at various festivals including"
"book of the same name. The Motown Sound played an important role in the crossover appeal with popular music, since it was the first African American owned record label to primarily feature African-American artists. Gordy moved Motown to Los Angeles in 1972 to pursue film production, but the company has since returned to Detroit. Aretha Franklin, another Detroit R&B star, carried the Motown Sound; however, she did not record with Berry's Motown Label. Local artists and bands rose to prominence in the 1960s and 70s including: the MC5, The Stooges, Bob Seger, Amboy Dukes featuring Ted Nugent, Mitch Ryder and"
"legendary record label. Berry Gordy, Jr. founded Motown Records which rose to prominence during the 1960s and early 1970s with acts such as Stevie Wonder, The Temptations, The Four Tops, Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, Diana Ross & The Supremes, the Jackson 5, Martha and the Vandellas, The Spinners, Gladys Knight & the Pips, The Marvelettes, The Elgins, The Monitors, The Velvelettes and Marvin Gaye. Artists were backed by in-house vocalists The Andantes and The Funk Brothers, the Motown house band that was featured in Paul Justman's 2002 documentary film Standing in the Shadows of Motown, based on Allan Slutsky's"
"by Bugs Pemberton who died in Los Angeles on 13 October 2013; both died from cancer related illnesses. Geoff Nugent died 12 October 2014. Produced 1963-1965 by Tony Hatch (1-8) and Bob Gallo & the Undertakers (9-21) Colin Gort replaced Baz Davies on keyboards in 2011. the keyboard sound gives the Undertakers a much more fuller sound. The Undertakers (band) The Undertakers are a British beat group, contemporaries of the Beatles and a leading group in the Merseybeat music scene of the early 1960s. They stopped performing in 2018, losing many of the original line-up members. Their best known line-up"
"bus, and they enlisted him as their lead guitarist. By January 1959, Lennon's Quarry Bank friends had left the group, and he began his studies at the Liverpool College of Art. The three guitarists, billing themselves at least three times as Johnny and the Moondogs, were playing rock and roll whenever they could find a drummer. Lennon's art school friend Stuart Sutcliffe, who had just sold one of his paintings and was persuaded to purchase a bass guitar, joined in January 1960, and it was he who suggested changing the band's name to ""Beatals"", as a tribute to Buddy Holly"
"Morris Minor and the Majors Morris Minor and the Majors was a British band, created by the British comedians and writers Tony Hawks and Paul Boross. The group became famous with their 1987 song ""Stutter Rap"", an original song in the style of the then-popular rap song ""No Sleep till Brooklyn"" by the Beastie Boys. The stage names of the group were ""Morris Minor"", ""Rusty Wing"" and ""Phil Errup"" (real names Tony Hawks, Paul Boross and Phil Judge). The song reached No. 4 in the UK Singles Chart, No. 14 in Canada and was a No. 2 hit in Australia."
"that recorded for Motown with limited success, and which featured future Temptation, Richard Street. Recordings of the group, including their Motown album, all singles and unreleased recordings up to 1968, can be found on ""The Motown Anthology"", released in 2007. The Elgins The Elgins were an American vocal group on the Motown label, active from the late 1950s to 1967. Their most successful record was ""Heaven Must Have Sent You"", written and produced by the Holland–Dozier–Holland team, which was a hit in the US in 1966, and in the UK when reissued in 1971. Founding members Robert Fleming, Johnny Dawson,"
"'folk devil' Ton Up Boys and the 59 Club. which it attended fortnightly during its heyday and sponsored. It became known for pioneering its large colour brochure, for producing coloured as well as black leathers, initially used for road racing from 1966 by Derek Minter in 1966 and Colin Seeley in 1967, and for producing both aviation and motorcycle clothing for women since the 1930s. Lewis Leathers jackets have been worn by leading British Punk and Rock musicians and fashion icons such as the members of The Damned, The Sex Pistols, Arctic Monkeys, The Clash, Motörhead, The Beatles, The Rolling"
"The Lively Ones The Lively Ones are an instrumental surf rock band from USA, active in Southern California in the 1960s. They played live mostly in California and Arizona. They recorded for Del-Fi records with production from Bob Keane. They recorded mostly cover songs, but there were a few originals. Their 1963 song ""Surf Rider"" (written by Nokie Edwards from The Ventures) was featured in the final sequence as well as the end credits of Quentin Tarantino's 1994 film ""Pulp Fiction"". They are best known with these members: Currently, John Benton plays rhythm/alternate lead guitar and Tracy Sands plays bass"
"Motown. Booker T. and the M.G.s were the label's backing band for most of the classic hits that came out of Stax, by Sam and Dave, Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett, and many more. The sound still lives on in the ""Blues Brothers"" movie, in which many of the musicians starred as themselves. Memphis is noted for its influence on the power pop musical genre in the 1970s. Notable bands and musicians include Big Star, Chris Bell, Alex Chilton, Tommy Hoehn, The Scruffs, and Prix. Several notable singers are from the Memphis area, including Justin Timberlake, Kirk Whalum, Three 6 Mafia,"
"At Hoggs' recommendation, his friend Billy Rollins, became the fourth member of a group they named ""The Blenders"". Within weeks, Rollins was replaced with another friend of Hoggs, Leroy Fair. In 1959, Hubert Johnson was added, making the group a quintet. At Billingslea's suggestion, the group renamed itself ""The Contours"". That same year, the group signed a recording contract with Motown. The group released two records in 1960 and 1961 but got their big break in 1962 when the single ""Do You Love Me"" was recorded on Motown's newest label, ""Gordy"". Within two weeks of its release, the song was"
"fictional band leader attempted to maintain his pop music career while running an automotive garage. It ran for one series. http://www.thepitchdoctor.tv/ Paul Boross website Morris Minor and the Majors Morris Minor and the Majors was a British band, created by the British comedians and writers Tony Hawks and Paul Boross. The group became famous with their 1987 song ""Stutter Rap"", an original song in the style of the then-popular rap song ""No Sleep till Brooklyn"" by the Beastie Boys. The stage names of the group were ""Morris Minor"", ""Rusty Wing"" and ""Phil Errup"" (real names Tony Hawks, Paul Boross and"
"""Brooke Pemberton"". With Ed Cobb of the Four Preps, Mayorga also branched out into instrumental rock and roll, forming the Piltdown Men, a studio group whose ""Brontosaurus Stomp"" made the ""Billboard"" Hot 100 in 1960 and whose other records had greater success in the UK charts. At the same time, he and Cobb formed the Link Eddy Combo (the name taken from their names Lincoln and Ed), with musicians Al Garcia, Fred Mendoza, Vince Bumatay and Art Rodriguez. Their instrumental, ""Big Mr. C"", was the first single released on Frank Sinatra's Reprise label in 1961, and reached # 28 on"
"and Blues"" scene in the '60s included The Nighttrain Review, Jason Hoover and the Epics, Bobby Taylor & the Vancouvers featuring Tommy Chong on guitar. The Vancouvers were signed to Motown by Berry Gordy and had a #5 hit on the U.S. R&B charts with ""Does Your Mama Know About Me?"", written by Chong. Bobby Taylor's ""King of Clubs"" was home to ""The Coasters"" and other great R&B bands. Vancouver had it all, Eric Burton and the Animals, Long John Baldry, The Doors and several other southern bands came to play in the very creative milieu created by the Vancouver"
"After Motown staffer Mickey Stevenson noticed Reeves singing at a prominent Detroit club, he offered her his business card for an audition. Reeves showed up at Motown on a wrong date (Motown auditions were held at Thursdays, while Reeves showed up to Motown's Hitsville USA studios on a Tuesday). Stevenson, initially upset, told Reeves to look out for clients and other matters. Soon Reeves became Stevenson's secretary and later was responsible for helping acts audition for the label. By 1961, the group, now known as The Vels, were recording background vocals for Motown acts. Prior to her success as lead"
"with the song peaking at #40 on the pop singles chart, #42 on the soul singles chart, and #4 on the dance charts. A cover by American country music group Billy Hill peaked at number 58 on the ""Billboard"" Hot Country Singles chart in 1989. The ""Motorcity All-Stars"" released a rerecorded version of song in 1989 on Ian Levine's Motown revival label Motorcity. The ensemble group was put together from as many former Motown singers as producer Levine could assemble. Levi Stubbs' brother Joe called Levi over to record the song, and both brothers feature on the track, along with"
"a houseboat, when he met drummer Phil Taylor, who had recently joined Motörhead and introduced Clarke to Lemmy. Not long after, he was playing with them. In the early days Eddie rehearsed with Motörhead, before going on the road, at Snobs Rehearsal Studios, part of a converted brewery on the corner of Kings Road and Lots Road, Chelsea, known as the ""Furniture Cave"". Motörhead's popularity increased along with their UK chart successes. The threesome (Lemmy, Clarke, Taylor) are considered the classic Motörhead line-up and have the ""Motörhead, Overkill, Ace of Spades, Bomber, No Sleep 'til Hammersmith"" and ""Iron Fist"" albums"